From the middle of this year, the oral section of the IELTS exam will be held virtually in the Chinese mainland, the exam's administrator, the British Council, said on Wednesday.

Examiners will hold one-on-one video tests for both the paper and the computerized versions of the IELTS, and the face-to-face oral test will be canceled for good.

Despite being moved online, the test's content, length, difficulty and scoring standards remain the same.

You Zhuoran, China Director of Exams Operations at the British Council, said the adjustment was made to conform to COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control measures, as no-contact exams protect the health of both exam takers and monitors.

Virtual oral testing will help make the exam more flexible, so there can be more test sessions and dates to meet demand, she said.